Research Question: Does the
amount of caffeine consumed increase after periods of alcohol consumption,
as opposed to normal amounts of caffeine consumption?

Relevant Background:It is popular
trend for college undergraduates to consume caffeine during informal meetings
and when preparing for examinations. Caffeine is also consumed in
order to enhance performance. College students also consume alcohol.
College students have the highest rate of binge drinking, which is irregular
and controlled consumption of alcohol.
Binge drinking is defined as at least one episode of drinking four
or more drinks during the past two weeks for women, and at least one episode
of drinking five or more drinks during the past two weeks for men.
Previous research findings suggest that there is a weak or nonexistent
relationship between caffeine and alcohol consumption.

Hypothesis: The amount of caffeine
increases after periods of alcohol consumption.

Methods:Participants.Twenty-five Saint Anselm
College students participated. Ten participants
were male and 15 participants were female.
All participants were 21 years of age or older.
Procedure. After voluntarily
completing an Informed Consent Form, participants in the
study answered two daily self-report questionnaires
over a three week period.
Materials. Participants answered
a Daily Caffeine Consumption Questionnaire and a Daily
Alcohol Consumption Questionnaire over a three week
period.
Daily Caffeine Consumption
Questionnaire. Participants recorded the type of beverage,
food, and/or over-the-counter
preparations, as well the amount consumed and the time of
consumption. Caffeine
content of beverages, foods, and over-the-counter preparations was
calculated using the United
States Department of Nutritional Services caffeine conversion
chart (see link).
Daily Alcohol Consumption
Questionnaire. Participants recorded the type and amount
of alcoholic beverages that
were consumed. Open-ended questions assessed the time period
between the first and last
drink(s), and major events of the day, such as exams and papersthat were
due. Daily perceived
stress was addressed through a Likert-type scale, ranging from
extremely low to extremely
high.
Statistical Analyses.A two (male vs.
female) by two (week vs. weekend) mixed analysis of
variance (ANOVA) was used to examine average caffeine
and alcohol consumption over a three
week period. A Chi-Square analysis was used
to examine an interaction between gender and binge drinker. The
analyses were conducted using the SPSS 8.0 for Windows
computer program.

Major Findings:1. Men and women consumed relatively the same amount of caffeine
throughout the three week
period.
2. Men consumed more alcohol both during the week and during
the weekend compared to women.
3. Men and women who did binge drink consumed more alcohol overallcompared
to men and women who
did not binge drink.
4. Men who did not binge drink consumed more caffeine overall
compared to the men who did binge
drink over the three week period.
5. Women who did binge drink consumed more caffeine compare to
women who did not binge drink
over the three week period.
6. There was no increase in the amount of caffeine consumed after
periods of alcohol
consumption.

Conclusions:No relationship between
caffeine and alcohol consumption was found. New studies need to be
conducted on the relationship between caffeine and alcohol consumption
in which more participants are used to alleviate the problem of gender
effects. Also, a longer testing time is needed in order to find a
consistent pattern of both caffeine consumption and alcohol consumption.
New methods for recording caffeine consumption and alcohol consumption
need to be designed. Finally, reasons for consuming caffeine and
alcohol should be assessed, which may lead to an answer as to why a relationship
between caffeine and alcohol consumption exists, or why a relationship
does not exist.